President Lukashenko knows precisely what the West thinks of him, and frequently makes clear what he thinks of the West.

Western governments accuse him of trampling on democracy and human rights, and take seriously allegations that Belarus organised death squads to get rid of political opponents.

In return, Mr Lukashenko accuses Western ambassadors of spying, and plotting to overthrow his regime.

Mr Lukashenko believes in an authoritarian style of government because the alternative, he says, is instability

He makes a point of cultivating relations with other pariah states, from Cuba to Iraq. Both he and his political opponents compare Belarus to Yugoslavia before the fall of his friend, Slobodan Milosevic.

"There will be no Kostunica in Belarus!" he said during a televised comments in July.

"No way! This must be clear to you and all those who count on it."

Landslide

Mr Lukashenko came to power by winning a landslide election victory in 1994.

Lukashenko sees himself as a man of the people

He was an outsider, a former farm manager seen as a man of the people, who unexpectedly beat a pillar of the former communist establishment.

He still tells many ordinary Belarussians what they want to hear: the country will have no truck with economic reform, "order" will be maintained, and Belarus will continue to grow closer to Russia.

Pensions and salaries may be meagre, but for now they continue to be paid on time.

Mr Lukashenko still emphasises his close links with workers in the countryside and in industry.

He is incapable of changing his position - he listens to no-one

Ex-Prime Minister Mikhail Chigir

He likes to be filmed driving a combine harvester or chatting with miners.

His supporters refer to him as Bat'ka, or father.

'Dictatorship'

Belarus began to earn its reputation as Europe's last communist dictatorship in 1996, when Mr Lukashenko used a referendum on constitutional changes to rid himself of an awkward parliament.

The new parliament was hand-picked, and the elections to its successor, held in 2000, were widely condemned.

The new constitution also strengthened Mr Lukashenko's control over the judiciary.

The security forces began to be used increasingly ruthlessly to crush dissent, and ministers sacked from the government frequently found themselves harassed or jailed.

Some disappeared.

Mr Lukashenko has championed the cause of unification between Belarus and Russia, causing Russian liberals to fear that the Kremlin may be his ultimate political goal

Mr Lukashenko believes in an authoritarian style of government because the alternative, he says, is instability.

He is on record as describing Hitler as a madman, but one who deserves credit for building a strong state.

"He is incapable of changing his position. He listens to no-one," says former Prime Minister Mikhail Chigir, now a member of the opposition.

Mr Lukashenko has championed the cause of unification between Belarus and Russia, causing Russian liberals to fear that the Kremlin may be his ultimate political goal.

A passion for sport

Some of Mr Lukashenko's domestic critics have suggested that his authoritarian
tendencies could be the result of an unhappy childhood in a small Belarussian village.

It is said that he was the victim of cruel taunts because his mother was unmarried. He himself married, but has separated from his wife.

Lukashenko won a landslide election victory in 1994

Sport is one of Mr Lukashenko's passions. He has served as chairman of the Belarussian Olympic Committee, even though the International Olympic Committee's rules theoretically forbid high state officials from holding such a post.

On one occasion, he declined to meet the chairman of the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe, Leni Fischer, who was visiting Minsk, on the grounds that he had an important football match to attend.

After extending his first term by two years in the 1996 referendum, Mr Lukashenko has already been in power for seven years. He is now set for another five - or as he put it in a post-election "at least five years".

Some analysts have taken this as a hint that the 47-year-old leader could alter the constitution again, to allow presidents to serve three or more consecutive terms.